Diving Deep into Underwater Data

Courtesy Photo | The SMART Scholar SEED Grant Program is sponsored by the SMART Program Office and the Laboratories and Personnel Office under the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. SEED Grant recipients receive research grants up to $100 thousand per year for up to a maximum of three years to help support promising SMART scholars establish a foundational research or engineering effort in their area of expertise as they transition from the pursuit of their Ph.D. to a DoD professional.  

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES

02.10.2022

Courtesy Story

SMART Scholarship Program

SMART scholar and SEED Grant recipient, Dieter Bevans, Ph.D., from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport (NUWC Keyport) is working to improve the detection, tracking and categorizing of underwater objects. His project, “Low-Frequency Sound Speed Estimation of Marine Sediments using a Helicopter and Ambient Ocean Noise” addresses two significant problems within the field of underwater acoustics: recovering the sound speed in marine sediment from a low-frequency airborne source (like a helicopter); and exploring the possibility of dispensing with the helicopter and detecting the acoustic wave produced by wind driven ambient noise.

Current procedures make it difficult and expensive to directly measure the properties of marine sediments. Most understanding of the effects of low-frequency interactions are provided by two competing theoretical models. Through his research, Dieter hopes to gain real-world data to help validate these theoretical models and solidify our understanding at frequencies below 100 Hertz. Eventually, Dieter aims to transition his research from working with helicopters to more practical and operational focused Navy platforms.

Dieter’s technique uses horizontal coherence from the acoustic head wave, excited by a low-flying helicopter, to recover the sound speed of sediment. The effort is working in parallel with another NUWC project, the Observable Ocean Data Discovery (O2D2). O2D2 is funded through NUWC’s Naval Innovative Science and Engineering (NISE) program, and aims to improve situational awareness by using deep learning techniques to design methods that optimize the vast amounts of underwater data.

Discussing the SMART Program’s commitment to mentorship, Dieter says, “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the mentoring I’ve received. It has helped guide and shape the development of my career and my growth as a scientist. Now that I am in the service commitment phase of my SMART scholarship, my sights are on developing my mentoring ability. My SEED activities have enabled me to continue to grow and learn from my most consistent mentor during my underwater acoustics career.” Dieter is currently mentored by Martin Renken, Ph.D., from NUWC Keyport and Michael Buckingham, Ph.D., from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The SMART Scholar SEED Grant Program is sponsored by the SMART Program Office and the Laboratories and Personnel Office under the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. SEED Grant recipients receive research grants up to $100 thousand per year for up to a maximum of three years to help support promising SMART scholars establish a foundational research or engineering effort in their area of expertise as they transition from the pursuit of their Ph.D. to a Department of Defense (DoD) professional. To foster relationships between SEED Grant recipients and established members of the DoD technical workforce, mentors of SEED Grant recipients are eligible for an additional $25 thousand per year to support close engagement and collaboration with their SEED Grant mentee.

• Date Taken: 02.10.2022
• Date Posted: 02.10.2022 09:45
• Story ID: 414408
• Location: ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, US